The Demon King
by Jetede
Summary: On top of the telephone pole was a man with golden eyes and raven hair. Wolfram blinked, and all of a sudden the man was gone. “I’ve been watching you for a while,” he said from behind suddenly. “I'm Yuuri, and from now on you belong to me.” [AU][YuuRam]
1. Prologue: Moonlit Encounter

**The Demon King**

Disclaimer: You know and I know that KKMaou and its characters are not mine. I would've kept Yuuri and Wolfram to myself if they are. Too bad they're not…

**---**

**Prologue: Moonlit Encounter**

* * *

"Damn it. I should've paid more attention to where I was going."

Wolfram von Bielefeld, a child prodigy. At age 16, he already acquired his first bachelor's degree. The petite blond-haired boy with deep emerald eyes was currently lost in a quiet residential area of San Francisco. The first full moon was already high up in the clear summer sky and his surrounding was dark and silent, giving it an eerie atmosphere.

"Why is everyone already asleep at this hour? It's only a bit past midnight," Wolfram complained to nobody. "I knew I should've brought my own car instead of relying on Conrad to pick me up."

"_Sorry Wolfram, I can't pick you up as promised. Mr. Ken Murata is here. He's a really important business client that both Gwendel and I can't ignore. Can you take a cab home instead? Ah, I've got to go, they need me inside."_

Conrad Weller, Wolfram's half-brother from their mother, Cecilie's second marriage called him at the party earlier. Wolfram was celebrating his graduation with some of his old friends at his cousin, Gisela's house. He left the party at midnight with the intention to take a cab home since all his other friends were too wasted to give him a lift home, and had decided to stay for a sleepover. The party also doubled as both a graduation celebration and reunion since many of his old friends had coincidentally moved to the US. They decided to make the reunion in SF ever since they found out he was coming there in the summer. Gisela, being the host, could not simply leave the site to drive Wolfram home. Who knows what the other kids would've done to her home if she left – especially in their current state of being. So Wolfram had decided to try to find his own way home after Conrad called.

"Arrgh! Stupid half-brothers! They knew I just arrived at the city. Didn't they even think for a second that maybe I don't know the way around here? Important client from Japan, my ass! I don't even get it why they still put up with that perverted Japanese businessman." Wolfram talked to himself as he walked down the dark street, trying to find the main road so he could find a taxi home. He was already lost after fifteen minutes walking in the middle of the secluded Victorian houses. Gisela's house was quite far from the main road.

"My brothers are executive idiots who don't even care about their youngest brother's well being, I'm lost in the middle of residential-nowhere, and now my cell phone is dead! What a great way to start my summer holiday! I knew I should not have agreed to mother's suggestion to intern at Gwendel's company."

Wolfram had agreed to Cecilie's idea to spend one year working for his oldest half-brother's company in San Francisco before he continued to his master's degree education next autumn. Gwendel's father, Cecilie's first husband, had left the family a major international trading company when he died several years ago. Gwendel had inherited the company and managed to double its worth and profit with the help of Conrad in a short time.

Until a few days before that night, Wolfram had been living with Cecilie in Singapore. Their mother was the CEO of the branch company in Asia. Wolfram was double-majoring in International Business and Communication in National University of Singapore, one of the best universities in Asia. He graduated with perfect GPA, full honors and a valedictorian. Cecilie had intended for Wolfram to inherit the branch company and leave its management to him once he's eighteen. That was why she thought Wolfram would gain an advantage of working experience at the main company in the US before he started leading his own. Wolfram was smart, but even genius people like him could get lost on his first few days in a new city, especially since public transportation in SF was not as effective as in Singapore.

"What the… I've been here before. I recognize that mailbox." Wolfram had apparently been going in circles. Streets in San Francisco could be quite confusing for newcomers. He decided to go back up the street he came from. That was when Wolfram saw him and stopped in his track.

Standing on the top of the telephone pole at the corner of the street in front of him was a young man with golden eyes and the darkest raven hair Wolfram had ever seen. The full moon's soft light illuminated his whole being, from the top of his raven hair which was highlighted in the gold light, down to his black long-sleeved dress-shirt and form-fitting black pants. He was bare-footed, one foot on top of the other. Wolfram realized that he was stepping on his other foot in perfect balance and grace that reminded him of a cat.

The man's golden eyes were transfixed on Wolfram while Wolfram's own emerald eyes were on him. They were gazing on each other for what seemed like an eternity, but in reality, only a few minutes had passed. Wolfram lost all abilities to talk and to move; his problems and previous complaints were all forgotten.

Wolfram blinked, and all of a sudden the man was gone.

"I've been watching you for a while," suddenly a sultry voice whispered right from behind him. His breath tickled Wolfram's ear from their closeness. Surprised, Wolfram spun back to confront his assailant. He was met with the same pair of stunningly beautiful golden eyes.

The eyes drew mysterious mixed feelings of fear and exhilaration from within Wolfram; feelings that he had never experienced before. The man had somehow moved behind him in a fraction of a second without him knowing it. There's no possible way a human could move that fast and as quiet as a feline. But then again, no human could or would be standing on a high telephone pole like that.

"Wh…what are you?" Wolfram stuttered, his eyes narrowed in suspicion, yet his heart was pounding. Ignoring his question, the black-haired man started walking towards him, closing their distance slowly without a sound. Wolfram started to step backwards in fear. He knew he had to call for help or try to attract someone's attention but somehow he couldn't. He just walked backwards as the man in black continued sauntering towards him, never breaking their eye contact. Not able to see behind him, Wolfram accidentally tripped over a pebble on the street. Just before Wolfram's back hit the ground, a strong arm had already found its way to the middle of Wolfram's back while the other held his arm to keep him from falling. Without realizing, Wolfram was already pulled back to the man's embrace. He blushed.

"Aah… th… thank you for that…" Wolfram stammered. "I, I'm okay now. You could let me go." He tried to push away from the embrace to no avail. Wolfram was pushed back to the wall all of a sudden, his hands pinned between his body and the wall, the man's left hand held them in place. Jumbled thoughts were going back and forth in Wolfram's mind. One of them was of fear that he might be mugged and raped in this new city, not a few days after he arrived. He was starting to get very afraid. The thought and feeling escalated when the man suddenly reached for the front of his abdomen and pulled up his blue shirt.

The golden-eyed man reached down and pressed his lips on his now exposed skin, just below Wolfram's ribcage. The first time the lips came in contact with his belly, Wolfram cried as he felt like jolts of electricity ran through his body. The man's lips felt both hot and cold at the same time. The touch felt hotter after a while, burning his fair skin almost literally. It reminded him of the hot stainless steel pan that accidentally burned him when he was learning how to cook a few years back, only this time the hot contact was much longer and much hotter compared to that.

When the man's lips broke the touch, Wolfram whimpered from the loss of warmth. Not a second later, he fell forward, his limbs felt like jelly and his eyes fluttering closed. The last thing he remembered was the same pair of strong arms supporting his body as he fell, a hushed whisper, and a pair of kind golden eyes looking at him. The whisper had said:

"_My name is Yuuri, and starting today, you belong to me, Wolfram."_

Conrad found Wolfram unconscious in front of their penthouse apartment door a few hours later.

* * *

---

I love reviews… Reviews are good. Reviews encourage me to write more… and reviews tell me if you guys like this story or not. Constructive criticisms are VERY, VERY much appreciated. So… reviews please??? Onegai! Arigatou gozaimasu!

This is the prologue of the story. I'll update the story as soon as I get some reviews. Until the next chapter!


	2. ch 1: You Belong to Me

**The Demon King**

Disclaimer: You know and I know that KKMaou and its characters are not mine. I would've kept Yuuri and Wolfram to myself if they are. Too bad they're not…

**---**

* * *

**Chapter 1: You Belong to Me**

Wolfram woke on his bed with a bad headache the next morning – which technically was the same morning since he got home after midnight. He rubbed the sleepiness off his eyes before looking at the alarm clock on the bedside table next to him. It was ten in the morning. He felt a twinge of pain ran through his abdomen as he tried to sit up on the side of his bed but he ignored it as a side effect of drinking too much the night before. His brain started to boot up as he tried to remember what had happened the day before.

"How did I get here?" He said out loud.

"You were unconscious outside the door when I found you last night, err, this morning. I believe it was around 3 am. I had to change you out of your dress-shirt." his brother Conrad said from the door. Wolfram hadn't even realized him opening the door. He realized however, that he was now wearing his normal pair of blue pajamas and pants.

"Ouch, my head," Wolfram cried as he put his hand on his temple.

"That's what you get for drinking too much," Conrad said to his half-brother with a warm smile. "Here, this might help. Murata-san gave us a lot of different kinds of the best tea from Japan – or so he said last night." He gave Wolfram a cup of hot green tea and aspirin. Wolfram scowled at him at the mention of Ken Murata's name, but he took the cup from Conrad gratefully. Conrad just ignored his brother's antics with deepening his smile.

"I don't remember ever reaching home last night."

"Drunks never do," Conrad replied casually. "You do realize that here in the US you're way too under aged to be drunk, right? …or actually to drink anything with alcohol in it at all."

Wolfram glared at the brown-haired man again, meeting his hazel eyes straightly before replying, "It's a party, Conrad. I would've been rude for not drinking at all." He paused for a bit, his hand moved up on his temple again while his brows furrowed as if to try to remember something important. "Besides, I only had one glass. Strange, that shouldn't have left me in this state."

Conrad's eyes showed a bit of concern in them and then finally managed to say, "You should get cleaned up and get dressed. We have an appointment with Murata-san for lunch." Wolfram groaned. Conrad smiled again. "I think mother and Gwendel would agree that it'll be best for you not to waste your time here. The faster you start learning about the company, the better."

"There goes my summer vacation." Wolfram's tone did not contain any acid to it. Conrad knew this and said nothing in return. He left his brother to go back to his own room and prepare himself. As much as Wolfram disliking the idea of meeting Ken Murata again, he agreed to his brother's remark. He did not come to San Francisco to play nor was the visit for a casual after school holiday. He had come halfway around the world to learn about the company he's about to inherit – the Asian branch of Shin-Makoku Trading Corporation. He's here for a one-year long internship and also to prove to his brothers that he could manage his own company when the time comes.

Wolfram started taking off his pajama top and bent down to take his pants off when he suddenly winced in pain. The abdomen right below his left ribs had started throbbing. He ran a finger through the skin and flinched when he felt a single jolt of electricity at the spot where his finger came in contact with this front. He glanced at the full mirror right in front of him and saw the mark appear. On his front skin, right below his ribs was a black circular tattoo with a kanji character in it. Having learned both Chinese and Japanese since he was young, he recognized the letter to be Japanese.

"Yuu-ri."

"You called me?"

Wolfram spun around to find a black-haired young man dressed all in black standing in the middle of his room, appearing out of nowhere. Then suddenly all the memories of the night before came back to Wolfram's head in a rush. He cried in pain as his memories tried to reconstruct themselves. His hands shot up to hold his temples as his veins convulsed.

"_My name is Yuuri, and starting today, you belong to me, Wolfram."_

Wolfram frowned in anger. "What the hell did you do to me last night?" If Wolfram was scared of the man who invaded his locked bedroom out of nowhere, he didn't show it. Instead, he chose to show defiance and arrogance to this… man-creature in front of him. He even tried to ignore the feeling of danger the aura of the man in front of him exuded in waves.

The man chuckled. "Feisty and passionate. That's what I like about you." Wolfram realized the man's eyes were no longer golden, but onyx black. They were the deepest of all black. The man disappeared for a moment, only to appear again behind Wolfram. The scene from the night before replayed in the blond boy's head. He blushed.

"Felt familiar?" The man whispered as he leaned forward and hugged Wolfram from behind. His arms snaked around the blonde's chest as his lips found their way to Wolfram's left shoulder. The man twirled one finger on and around the 'tattoo' he had made the night before. Wolfram tightened his stomach muscles responsively.

"Don't touch me, you perverted demon," Wolfram hissed as he pushed himself away from the embrace and turned to face the man in black.

The man chuckled again. "I'm a demon, yes, but I'm not 'perverted demon'. I'm Yuuri, the Maou – the Demon King," he explained to Wolfram; his eyes showing a hint of amusement.

Wolfram registered the new information in his head. Of course – the way the man just simply appeared out of nowhere, his dangerous aura, his all black attire, there's no way this Yuuri could be a mere human – not that Wolfram had anything against people who loved black – it's just that everything about this man in front of him screamed power and danger, yet there's a hint of warmth behind all those. This confused the hell out of Wolfram.

"What now? If you're here to take my life, you might as well do it and get it over with quickly," Wolfram defied.

A flash of hurt flew over Yuuri's eyes for a moment, but it disappeared quickly before he answered, "I'm not here to take your life. Why would I want to kill my companion and bride?" Wolfram saw red.

"Br…bride?! What are you talking about? Who the hell wants to get married to you?!" Wolfram cried. His fists were clenched on his sides, anger clearly emanating from his whole being. That's when he realized that he was wearing nothing except for his briefs. He was about to take a shower before Yuuri magically appeared in the bedroom. Wolfram made a gesture to try to hide himself from Yuuri's heated gaze. He crossed his arms in front of his chest, trying to preserve the little bit of dignity he had left. Yuuri chuckled again at this cute gesture. Suddenly a knock was heard on the door.

"Wolfram, are you okay?" Conrad asked from the hallway.

"A… ah, yes. I'll be done soon. I was about to take a shower."

"I'll be waiting for you in the living room, then," Conrad replied.

Wolfram sighed as he heard steps retreating into the hallway. There's no way he could explain about Yuuri if Conrad had decided to barge into his room just then. His half-brother was smart and very observant, he'll notice that Yuuri was not human – that he was dangerous – and Conrad would probably try to protect his brother from the stranger. No, Wolfram couldn't possibly expose Conrad to danger like that. He actually liked his half-brother, although he would never admit that to anyone. Wolfram wouldn't involve anybody else with his current 'problem' – especially not his family.

Wolfram heard Yuuri chuckled amusedly again. "You didn't have to do that, you know. I wouldn't harm your half-brother in any way."

"How the hell do you know about me and my family? What else do you know?"

"Like I said," Yuuri purred as he moved closer towards Wolfram, "I've been watching you for a while." He put a gentle kiss on Wolfram's cheek and moved back quickly before Wolfram could slap him for the gesture. Yuuri just knew, being the stubborn rich kid that he was, Wolfram would try to hit him as soon as he did that. Yuuri was right.

"Well then, my love. I'll leave you to your duties. Don't let Conrad, Gwendel or Murata wait for you too long." Wolfram's eyes widened at the mention of the names. "Until we meet again." Wolfram saw Yuuri literally slid backwards gracefully as his body gradually became more translucent and disappeared after a few seconds. The last thing he heard before the man completely dissolved into thin air was a whispered: _"Don't forget, you belong to me."_

Wolfram shakily walked into his private bathroom after a few minutes. He felt his chest clenched with a mixture of fear, excitement, confusion, and anger as he tried to process what just happened in his brain. He was scared of Yuuri, yet felt excited and angry at the same time by the man's affectionate gestures toward him. One thing he was most confused about was how much Yuuri knew about him and his family. He even knew about Ken Murata. Nothing made sense anymore. Never before in his life had he felt like this. The fact that he was currently a teenage boy in the process of puberty did not help his condition at all. It made it worse. His heart thumped rapidly against his chest as he tried to calm himself down under the warm shower. Distraction was the last thing he needed when meeting a very important client, especially on his first day of work. Wolfram spent a good fifteen minutes standing under the warmth of the running water. He was glad to find out that the shower had helped.

Wolfram changed to his formal shirt and suit before stepping out of his bedroom to meet Conrad in the living room as promised. He decided to put the previous 'incidents' at the back of his mind for now and focused on his job. They left the penthouse apartment shortly after to meet with Gwendel and their client.

---

* * *

There you go! Chapter 1 is done.

Thank you for those who reviewed! I'm glad to find out that people are actually looking forward to reading my story. It's a great encouragement, I tell you :)

What's going to happen between the Demon King and Wolfram from now on? Now that Yuuri had claimed and marked (literally) his bride and companion, surely things will get more interesting onwards. I can't wait to write more!

I love reviews. Reviews encourage me to write more. Constructive criticisms are very, very welcomed! So, please review :) Onegai! Arigatou Gozaimasu!


	3. ch 2: Business Partner

**The Demon King**

Disclaimer: This fanfic indicates my desperate wish to own Yuuri and Wolfram and the rest of KKMaou TT --- Too bad they're not. (sobs) And no, I'm not making money out of this. I do get an awful lot of personal satisfaction for writing this, though. (mad cackle).

Well… onto the next chapter, then! Enjoy!

**---**

* * *

**Chapter 2: Business Partner**

Wolfram had been distracted with the Demon King's previous advancements toward him earlier. He cursed himself for not being able to pull his mind off of Yuuri. There's something about the Maou that he could not bring himself to ignore, let alone forget. Yuuri's words had been ringing in his mind for a while now. Wolfram admitted that the raven-haired man had done a great job in making him not forget that the blonde 'belonged' to the demon. Wolfram hated him for it, yet he couldn't stop his fast heartbeat. He cursed himself again for not being able to hide his current state from Conrad.

"Are you sure, you're okay, Wolfram?" Conrad asked his half-brother as they drove along the crowded streets of downtown San Francisco. "You seem to be distracted by something."

Wolfram blinked in surprise at his half-brother's intuition. _Of course, this is Conrad we're talking about…_

"I'll be fine, Weller," Wolfram tried to assure his half-brother in a slightly annoyed tone. "Just focus on the road." Conrad smiled.

Wolfram would always call him by Conrad's father's last name when he's annoyed. He never took his younger half-brother's behavior to heart. He knew Wolfram never meant to hurt him. Wolfram after all was at his difficult age. He also knew how stressful Wolfram's life had been. Everybody around him had always had great expectations toward the youngest son. Just because Wolfram was a genius didn't mean he had to burden all the responsibilities shoved onto him. Other boys his age were still playing at the game arcade after school and taking it easy in life, but not Wolfram. If it's within his power, Conrad would always try to lighten Wolfram's load. He loved Wolfram with his life.

Wolfram leaned back to the comfortable black perforated leather seat of Conrad's new Lexus hybrid GS, trying to calm himself down. It was so much like Conrad's kind and loving nature to choose a hybrid car. _Shin-Makoku International_ main Executive Advisor and their relative and uncle, Gunter von Kleist had insisted Conrad drive a luxury car to represent his position as the company's vice president and as Gwendel's right hand man, thus the hybrid GS model. Conrad himself didn't care much, as long as the vehicle was running and 'environmental safe', he would've been fine with anything. The car, of course, had been personally modified by Gunter's instructions himself to accommodate to what he describe as Conrad's 'right image'. The modifications had doubled the car's worth – but of course, Gunter didn't even blink at the six digit price. The company had been making so much profit that what would normally be considered a huge amount of money for others, was considered loose change. Wolfram had snorted when he heard Gunter rambled on about his choice of vehicle a few days back. His second cousin never changed. Wolfram was glad that at least he was allowed to make his own choice for a vehicle. He had only driven it once since he wasn't accustomed to driving in the new city, yet.

The cool air-conditioner and Telemann's classical flute concerto helped to calm Wolfram a bit. He felt himself relaxing under the flowery classical melodies and gentle breeze. San Francisco's summer heat was much worse than in Singapore. He was always complaining on the island country's humid weather all year long, but he realized humidity meant there was at least some water in the air, not like SF's scorching sun in the hot and dry summer. Wolfram had always had a higher tolerability towards heat compared to other people, but summers in California could be so unnerving at times – not to mention he was wearing a full suit. To wear less meant an insult towards the client. Besides, he would never want to look less than perfect in public. He had an image to maintain.

* * *

The two handsome brothers were drawing a lot of attention when they arrived at the Mandarin Oriental hotel. _Shin-Makoku International_ had been a valuable partner and client to _Mandarin Oriental_ for a while. The manager had recognized Conrad the moment he stepped out of the off-white Starfire Pearl colored car. The 5-star hotel manager had personally come out to greet Conrad and Wolfram and escorted them towards the _Silks_ restaurant on the second floor after the valet attendant took the car away.

Wolfram himself was a regular at the hotel's branch in Singapore; however it was his first time at the SF branch. The moment he stepped inside the _Silks_, he was greeted by the warm earth tone colors of the restaurant and the silk decorations which gave the place its name. Even the chandeliers were made of silk. If there's one thing Wolfram appreciated very much, it was beauty. The interior design of the restaurant was breathtakingly beautiful. The whole place had reached the desired effect of both the oriental culture of the pacific and west coast influence. When Wolfram and Conrad reached the private corner seat of the restaurant, Gwendel was already talking amiably with their client.

"Ah, Mr. Von Bielefeld, Mr. Weller, it's really nice to see you again," Ken Murata said with a smile. Ken Murata had black hair and black eyes. He always wore rounded glasses which would often reflect the light and thus hiding the man's eyes from others in an almost disturbingly mysterious way. Wolfram flinched inside. He never really liked the Japanese client's smile. He always felt that there's something unexplained and unnerving behind the kind façade.

"Murata-san," Wolfram said while offering his hand in a handshake. Ken Murata rose from his seat to greet both Wolfram and Conrad. "It's nice to see you again, too. It's been a while since I saw you last with our mother." The Japanese man raised his eyebrows ever so slightly as he shook Wolfram's hand. There was an amused and knowing glint in his eyes behind his glasses. Conrad noticed this but he dismissed it since he knew their client always had a particular fondness towards the youngest son. Wolfram felt weird in front of Ken Murata as usual, but tried his best to maintain a polite attitude. Conrad shook the client's hand firmly with a slight bow after Wolfram. It didn't matter that they just met the night before. Politeness always goes a long way in a business relationship.

"How have you been, Mr. Bielefeld?" Murata asked Wolfram after they're all seated. The waiter had started serving their drinks. "I heard from Cheri-sama about your 'internship'."

"Life has been great, Murata-san. Thank you for asking," Wolfram replied with grace. Gwendel and Conrad seemed pleased with the way their youngest brother handled the starting conversation. "Our mother thought it would be best for me to learn the ways of the company before I take over the Asian branch. I can't agree more."

Murata smiled. "Ah, yes. Congratulations on your graduation. I have to admit, I was very impressed. To graduate double degree with a perfect grade and also with full honors, at the age of sixteen – from one of the best universities in Asia – was a great accomplishment," he said. Ken Murata had been quite close with Cecilie ever since his father and Gwendel's father first established the business partnership years ago. He had also inherited his company like Gwendel did, only much earlier. The young Japanese man had been an indispensable client, partner, and close family friend – much to Wolfram's disdain – ever since.

"Thank you for your compliments, Murata-san. I'm flattered." Wolfram replied. "I'm afraid I'm not as great as you thought."

"Nonsense. I'm excited to know that my company's business partner will be in good hands. You will inherit the branch in a couple of years, ne?" Murata replied with a wink of an eye. Wolfram shivered inwardly at the gesture. He had expected their client's advances. Ken Murata was famous for his slightly perverted nature and his love towards women. Wolfram wasn't a female, but he was beautiful and slender with slightly feminine features. Cecilie had passed her beauty to her youngest son. The thought angered him a little, yet he tried his best to maintain his neutrally polite manner. Murata's gesture had reminded him again of the Demon King.

"That's right, Murata-san. Our brother is going to take over the company from Cecilie when he's eighteen," Gwendel said. Conrad glanced at his youngest brother. Something was definitely off with Wolfram that day. He made a mental note of it, however decided that if Wolfram wanted to talk about it, Conrad would eventually found out what's been bothering him.

"That's enough about me," Wolfram added kindly. "Why don't we move on to business over lunch?" The others agreed to Wolfram's suggestion and started to talk about strengthening the business partnership between their companies. Wolfram had wanted to finish the meeting as soon as possible. He was distracted all throughout the meeting, but didn't show it outside. If Murata noticed Wolfram's faintly distracted behavior, he kept quiet about it and maintained his smile all the time. All four men conducted their business with great professional attitude and efficiency. By the end of the lunch, each side had signed new business contracts that would benefit all the parties involved.

---

* * *

Gwendel and Conrad returned to the office to finish their work after the meeting. Murata had asked Wolfram to accompany him. His brothers thought it was a great idea since it meant killing two birds with one stone. Both Wolfram and their client could do sightseeing while strengthening their professional relationship. Gwendel also thought it would do Wolfram good for the future. Wolfram was slightly worried, yet he agreed to the arrangements. He was after all, interested to tour around the new city he was about to call home for the next twelve months.

They spent the afternoon touring around San Francisco with Gwendel's personal chauffeur as a tour guide. Murata's personal bodyguard stayed close to them all the time. They had just finished viewing _Coit Tower_, the flowers of _Lombard Street_, and the painted ladies of Victorian-style houses around the _Palace of Fine Arts_ when Murata decided to visit _Golden Gate Park_.

Wolfram and Murata took a stroll along the grass in the late afternoon. Gwendel's chauffeur had wisely chosen a quiet spot of the huge park and stayed by the car to give privacy to his boss' brother and client. Murata's bodyguard stayed within view. He knew his boss had something important to talk to his business partner. Wolfram fidgeted with worry. He had known Murata since he was young, but it was the first time he's seen the Japanese man this serious. Wolfram frowned and narrowed his eyes on the client when Murata stopped on his stroll.

"You've met him," Murata stated all of a sudden. His back was facing Wolfram.

"Pardon me?"

Murata turned around and faced Wolfram. "Yuuri, the Maou – the Demon King," he continued, noticing the confused look on Wolfram's face. "I see he's finally made his move." Wolfram was alarmed. His eyes widened in surprise.

"You knew about the Demon King." Wolfram stated as a matter of factly rather than questioned.

Ignoring him, Murata continued, "I see he's even claimed you." Murata placed his palm on Wolfram's left abdomen. Wolfram jerked backwards and instantly put his own hand to cover his own stomach. His eyes narrowed while his brows furrowed at Murata's gesture.

"What the hell do you know?" Wolfram asked angrily; his hand still on his belly. _To hell with politeness and professional attitude_, he thought. _There's something strange going on here, and I'm going to find out about it! _"Who the hell is the Demon King and what's your relationship with him?" Wolfram had raised his voice at this point. Murata's bodyguard reacted and started to move towards the two but was stopped by Murata's hand signal. Wolfram glared at the Japanese man, his emerald eyes never leaving Murata. If looks could kill, Murata would've been engulfed in fire and burning at that point.

"Let's just say, the Demon King and I, were… old acquaintances."

---

* * *

--Author's note--

Finally! Chapter 2! Woot! I don't know if you guys had anticipated that… But it's hard not to make Yuuri and Murata acquainted with each other, hehe. So what exactly is their relationship with each other here? Murata had just admitted that he knew Yuuri. What would happen next? How will Wolfram react to this new information? I'm so excited myself! kyah!

You guys won't believe how much encouragement I got from your reviews… and I got a lot of flowing ideas from them too! (Tries to fend off _juntomatsu_'s ghost from invading her body) You'll have to get off me so I can concentrate on the next chapter, teehee… That was very sweet of you, thanks :).

Thank you to those who reviewed. I can't believe I got 20 reviews out of 2 chapters! I'm glad people like this AU – I was worried you guys won't like it since it feels a bit detached from the real KKMaou. Thanks to _Rokutagrl_ as well for reminding me to enable anonymous reviews – you're right, I did get more reviews afterwards (never occurred to me before you mentioned it that I had to do that, LOL).

_SOMA-King_, I'm flattered by your comment. I hope the future chapters will appeal to you as well :). The National University of Singapore does exist (not that I'm trying to promote it or anything) – just thought that it would've been more interesting for me to incorporate real places and other real world elements to the story. Oh, and Mandarin Oriental hotel exist in both SF and Singapore too. It is an AU KKMaou, afterall (and as you can all probably tell, it's kind of set on present day real world – plus the magical and supernatural stuff, hehe). All my previous instructors in college always told us to write and draw what we know, so there ya' go!

For those others that I didn't mention here… THANK YOU very much for the comments and reviews! I read them all (and even try to check them on a regular basis), and I really appreciate you guys for taking the time to write them. Hope you enjoyed this last chapter as well (no, it's not the end yet… in fact, it's far from the end).

I still have no clear idea where the story will end up at – too much flowing ideas can be quite confusing sometimes, hehe. But, rest assured, I'll try my best to make this worth your while. Some of the characters may be a bit OOC, but I kinda like Maou Yuuri's aggressive side – I've always thought of his 2 personalities merged together since the beginning of this story, by the way – so you'll see a more 'complete' Yuuri here.

Don't hesitate to give me constructive criticisms, too. As much as I like praises, I'd also like to read what you really think about the story, and that includes the weaknesses, too. If I did some spelling, grammatical, or other mistakes along the way, feel free to point it out and I'll try to fix it right away.

I love reviews! Reviews encourage writers! Until the next chapter… Ja!

---

* * *


	4. ch 3: Shin Makoku

**The Demon King**

Disclaimer: This fanfic indicates my desperate wish to own Yuuri and Wolfram and the rest of KKMaou T—T --- Too bad they're not. (sobs) And no, I'm not making money out of this. I do get an awful lot of personal satisfaction for writing this, though. (mad cackle).

So... Whatever happened to the fast updates, you asked? The flood in Jakarta, that's why!

The flood caused a lot of problems for a lot of people in Jakarta -- not only did it cause a lot of people losing their homes in the water, some people died because of it. Please pray for these people TT. It's probably only a matter of time before my neighborhood got hit by the water as well. Hopefully it won't be too bad here though. There were also a lot of communication problems. Cellphone signals and internet connections were interrupted. I lost my internet for more than 2 days because of the flood. This was supposed to be updated 2 days ago. Well, but here ya go. Hope u guys like it.

New chapter updates are going to be slower from now on. I have decided to slow down and make the chapters longer. Hopefully you like this new turnout. On to the next chapter, then! Enjoy!

**---**

* * *

**Chapter 3: Shin-Makoku**

"_Let's just say, the Demon King and I, were… old acquaintances." _

---

Wolfram looked over the window as he sat at the back passenger seat; his emerald eyes absorbing the surrounding neighborhood as the car drove up a hill. Murata sat next to him in silence, only the quiet hum of the car could be heard. They had reached a less crowded neighborhood of San Francisco. There were even less houses and other buildings as they went further up the hill.

What Wolfram saw as the car came to a stop surprised him. There, on the very top of the hill, was a huge Victorian style mansion – sure he had seen many of the painted ladies of San Francisco at different areas of the city, but not as grand as this one. The mansion was in perfect condition, it looked like it was recently build, yet the building exuded some kind of an ancient aura. Besides, wasn't the previous houses he saw in the area at the lower hillside were Spanish style? Gwendel's chauffeur had opened the door for him as he was lost in his thoughts. All of a sudden he remembered what he came there for.

---

* * *

"_What do you know about Shin-Makoku International, Mr. Von Bielefeld?" Murata had asked Wolfram earlier at the park. Wolfram was glaring at him, his brows furrowed, confused about the question. "Have you ever thought about the meaning of the name of the company?"_

Wolfram did, in fact, notice the weird name of his family's company. He remembered Gunter talking about their family ancestry; how they had descended from European royalties. He realized that it's rather strange that the family's company had a Japanese name. All of a sudden, something clicked in his brain. 'Shin-Makoku' basically means 'New Demon Kingdom'!

"_That's not possible…" Wolfram whispered while his eyes narrowed even further. Murata smiled gently at Wolfram's statement._

"_That whether the Demon King had any connection whatsoever with your family?" It was more of a statement than a question from Murata. Wolfram stayed quiet at the inquiry, his mind still trying to process the new information, so the Japanese man continued, "I'll make this easier for you to chew." Murata paused and sighed. "I guess saying that I was a mere acquaintance with Yuuri was the understatement of the year. I can tell you all about it, but I think it'll be better if we discuss it at a, ah, more convenient location, of course, with all the parties involved." _

_Wolfram had understood what Murata meant. They had to meet up with Yuuri for the 'conversation', although exactly why, he did not know. He had a feeling that this was very important and that sooner or later he had to confront it anyway. Better sooner than later. He nodded in agreement to follow Murata to wherever they were supposed to talk._

---

* * *

Murata had asked Wolfram to wait in the living room while he went upstairs to 'take care of something'. The chauffeur and Murata's bodyguard were told to wait outside. After passing a set of tall double door entrance – which, by the way, opened automatically by themselves the moment Murata placed his palm on the wooden surface – Wolfram realized that the house was quiet. Too quiet. It felt almost empty, devoid of life. He noticed there were a lot of ornaments and different kind of decorations from different eras of cultures of the world in the hallways and the spacious living room. The house could put the most prestigious art museums around the world to shame. Their collections were nothing to compare with what Wolfram saw in what he had guessed as the Demon King's residence. He was right. Murata had brought them to Yuuri's mansion. For what looked like an old-style building, the mansion was surprisingly very clean and well-maintained; there was no sense of decay even in the slightest bit. Everything looked freshly made, as if time had stopped in the building. Too confused to continue with his train of thoughts, Wolfram decided to make himself at home and sat down at the white leather couch. He couldn't care less about his manners or waiting for his host to invite him to sit down anymore at this point. 

---

* * *

"I should've known that you would've tried something like this, Ken," a voice hissed from the seat by the window in the Study. Like the living room, the Study was full of art pieces and freshly-made decorations. The thousands of books sitting on the full-sized book cases on each side of the walls looked new and ageless – as if they just came out of the printers. The back of the seat, from which the voice could be heard, was facing the door. Murata couldn't see the person seating on the leather chair, but he knew who was talking. 

"It's nice to meet you again, Shibuya," Murata answered nonchalantly from the door, a smile pasted on his face. "Oh, and you're very welcome, by the way."

"Sarcastic as ever, I see." The man seated on the chair sighed. "It's been so long since I've been called that." The chair then turned to reveal the Demon King with a warm smile on his face. "I've missed you too, _Muraken_." Murata grinned at the king's pet name for him. It's been a while since they last met, yet nothing seemed to have changed between the two best friends. "Why did you bring him here?"

"You know very well the reason why." Murata stated simply.

"He's not ready."

"Sooner or later, he has to be," Murata answered. "And from what I've seen so far, the sooner, the better. Heck, Yuuri, you've even already marked him. As your _Companion_, Wolfram has the right to know." Yuuri's black eyes flashed and turned golden for a fraction of a second before they turned back to their onyx color. Murata saw his friend's eyes flickered but chose to ignore it. He knew Yuuri was not happy with what he had done, but he was not wrong in his decision. Yuuri sighed again. The Demon King understood very well what his best friend wanted him to do.

"You've changed," Murata said again.

"Time tends to do that to _people_." _If I can still be considered human, that is_. The king stopped for a moment before he put up a small smile as he rose from his seat. "You know, **_he_** was right. You nag too much."

Murata raised his eyebrows at the statement. The Demon King chuckled at his expression. It was rare to see his friend caught off-guard like that. Yuuri moved towards the door before Murata could retaliate. The Japanese man hesitated for a bit before turning to follow him. Somewhere along the way towards the living room, Yuuri could faintly hear his friend muttering things like '_damn father and son_' or '_I swear I'm gonna get **him** later for always putting me up on these kind of problems all the time_' and some other curses in different kinds of language, under his breath. Amused, the Demon King just smiled and kept quiet as they walked in the dim hallways.

---

* * *

Wolfram could feel the throbbing pulse of his abdomen – right on the spot where the Demon King had put a mark on his person the night before – as Yuuri and Murata walked through the doorway. 

"It's the power resonance," Murata stated simply, knowing what Wolfram was going through from the expression on the boy's face. "The_ Mark of the Companion_ resonates with the Demon King's power when the two of you are within a close range." Wolfram furrowed his brows in anger.

"What the hell are you talking about?" He abruptly stood. "Both of you keep mentioning _Companion, Bride_, and something about me being 'claimed' by this, this, wimp of a Demon King!" Wolfram cried as he pointed his forefinger at Yuuri.

"I'm not a wimp!" Yuuri exclaimed. Murata put a hand in front of his mouth in order to suppress his laughter, amused by the nickname.

"Whatever!" Wolfram interrupted. "I'm not some kind of a doll to be possessed by someone, or _something_, and I'm clearly not here just to get even more confused than I already am. So would either of you please just tell me what the hell is going on here?! Who are you people and how on earth could you magically appear and disappear at will like this morning? Why do I suddenly have this tattoo, with _his_ name on it, on _my_ abdomen?" Wolfram kept glancing back and forth between the two men in front of him and flung his hand toward Yuuri in accusation as he shouted the last statement. All of a sudden, a single, tiny burst of flame escaped from his open palm toward the Demon King.

"Gahh! Watch where you aim that thing! That's dangerous!" Yuuri exclaimed. The fire almost burned his hair if not for the water shield he put up at the last fraction of a second.

"What the… what was that? Did I do that?"

Murata sighed as he rubbed his temples. "Mr. Von Bielefeld, I think it's better for you to take a seat while I try my best to explain this, _situation_, to you." _This is going to be a long evening._

Wolfram was annoyed, but he complied and took a seat. Yuuri and Murata sat opposite of him. "How much do you know about your ancestors, Wolfram?" Murata started.

"A little bit. Our family members are some kind of descendants of some European royal families, I don't know exactly which country, though, although our names have strong German roots in them. I think my mother Cecilie was the direct descendant of an ancient king, or something, while both Gwendel's father and mine were her far relatives," Wolfram answered. Yuuri stayed quiet during his explanation.

"You're right. However, that is not completely correct." Murata continued, "I'll get to the point. This 'ancient king' ancestor of yours was not a king of a kingdom of a civilization in the past. He was a king, yes, but not of one that existed in this world or on Earth." Wolfram started to furrow his brows again while Yuuri had a sad expression on his face. "I'm sure you've heard the concept of different dimensions in your studies before. Think of this kingdom I'm talking about as being in another dimension if you'd like. It will make it much simpler to think like that." Murata paused to adjust his glasses before he continued, "No one knows your ancestor's real name. He himself told me that he'd been called many things before. The name that actually stuck on him was '_Shinou_', which basically means _Original King_. Shinou was, in fact, the first Maou of the kingdom of _Shin-Makoku_. Shinou was also Yuuri's father."

"Whoa, wait a sec'! What do you mean by telling you _himself_? Shinou, who you claimed to be _my_ ancestor, told you his name, and he's this guy's father?" Wolfram asked and then looked at Yuuri. "How old are you?"

"Shinou wasn't my biological father," Yuuri answered. "He found and adopted me more than 200 years ago. He made me his heir as the next Demon King and thus made me automatically gain the demon powers. We call this 'magical ability', _majutsu_, while the power attribute itself is called '_maryoku'_. Ask Ken here why he named them like that." Yuuri pointed to his left, while the said person just smiled. "And to answer your question as to how my father could tell Ken his name himself, it's because Ken was there. This guy here is actually VERY old." Murata rolled his eyes toward Yuuri at the last statement.

"_Was_, Shibuya, I _was_ old," he corrected his best friend. "I was Shinou's _Companion_, Wolfram. I was the _Maou's Bride_. That was before my soul was reborn in this body though. The Murata Ken that I am now is a twenty-five year old businessman; however, I managed to retain my past memories of when I still bore the _Mark of the Companion_. That 'tattoo' on your stomach is your Mark, one that indicates your position as Yuuri's Companion."

"I never asked to be a Companion!" Wolfram exclaimed, and then pointed his finger towards Yuuri. "This perverted Demon King just all of a sudden came to me and k…kissed me last night, a…and actually had the nerve to do it a second time this morning!"

"Oooh, I didn't know you could be so bold, Yuuri," teased Murata, his mouth curved upwards to a big grin.

"Shut up, Muraken." Murata laughed out loud at the Demon King's remark, earning a death glare from both Yuuri and Wolfram.

"This is NOT funny, Murata-san. How do I get rid of this mark?" asked Wolfram.

Murata managed to stop laughing before he continued, "I'm sorry, but you can't undo the ritual of the mark. The moment you received the mark, you officially became Yuuri's Companion for the rest of your lives. You also automatically received majutsu power that is compatible to your maryoku signature. From what I've seen just now, you have the fire elemental maryoku signature, which, I'll have to say, fits your fiery personality." Wolfram shot Murata another death glare.

Murata paused and looked at the Demon King, his expression became serious this time. "Although, Yuuri, you know you weren't supposed to mark him without his consent."

"Sorry," Yuuri replied sheepishly, "I couldn't help it. It was full moon last night. I never expected the pull to be that strong."

"I see. It was full moon last night."

"What the hell does the full moon have anything to do with all this?" Wolfram asked angrily.

"Although he could control all elements, Yuuri's main maryoku signature is water. Yuuri's maryoku was pulled towards your fire elemental maryoku – simply said, opposites attract." Murata explained. "You're Shinou's direct descendant; therefore you have mazoku blood in you. As someone of royal blood, you inherited strong maryoku – however, the power was dormant until you reached the age of sixteen – even so, that power wouldn't have just burst out when you turned sixteen – which was a few months ago, correct?"

Wolfram nodded before Murata continued, "During the full moon, which was last night, the Demon King's maryoku resonance became much stronger in his body. Yuuri could not resist the attraction towards your maryoku – just like magnets, the more magnetic power they have, the stronger the pull is towards each other."

"Why me," Wolfram groaned as he sank further into the couch, trying to process all the information in his head. Half of him tried to dismiss all this as a nightmare – that he was dreaming – but the other half was telling him otherwise. How could this all be a dream when he clearly witnessed the demonstrations of this so called demonic power himself? Heck, he even created fire with his palm, out of nowhere! Wolfram raised his right hand and scrutinized it while clenching and unclenching his fingers.

"It couldn't be helped. Sooner or later, you two would've found each other anyway. A perfect combination of two conflicting maryoku, yet those that attract each other like yours, is in fact, very rare." Murata said. "Becoming a Companion is not without its advantages either. Although those with mazoku blood tend to outlive normal humans, a Companion will live as long as the Demon King lives. You'll also age slower from now on."

"But, what about my family? You said I'll age slower? How much slower? Y…you mean I'll stay looking like this while the rest of my family and friends age?" Wolfram stuttered. _That's right. The Maou is more than 200 years old, yet he still looks so young. Those who don't know about him would probably think he's only twenty or something. _Wolfram sighed. _What have I gotten myself into?_ "Arghhh! This pisses me off! This is all _your_ fault, you hennachoko!"

"I said I'm not a wimp!"

Murata smiled. _Maybe there's hope for these two after all_. "I don't think you need to worry about your family and friends yet, Mr. von Bielefeld. Not for several years at least. For now, you need to do what you have to do. That new power will need some getting used to. You need to learn how to control it, or it would be dangerous."

"What do you mean, Murata-san?" Wolfram asked.

"Right now, you don't have much control over your fire. Your maryoku reacts strongly on your emotions. You saw it yourself just now – when you were angry at Yuuri before. Luckily he reacted fast and blocked the fire with his water _kekkai_." Murata rolled his eyes toward Yuuri. "Or you would've been toasted, Shibuya." He chuckled. "I'd say, you two are the perfect match." Murata ignored the confused looks the other two shot at him and rose from his seat. "Saa, Yuuri, do you have anything to eat here? We've been talking for quite a while. I'm starving. Oh and Wolfram, I've already told your brothers that you would come home late tonight."

"What? When did you…"

"Why don't the three of us have dinner together and continue this conversation afterwards? I'm sure you'd like to know more about this new power of yours. I could teach you all about it. After all, I went through the same thing a long time ago." Both Yuuri and Wolfram were rendered speechless. Somehow they found they could not disobey Murata. Besides, the man was already walking towards the hallway to the dining room by the time he finished his last sentence.

_This is going to be very interesting. I think I'm quite going to like this life. I'm glad Yuuri finally found his Companion. After all, water and fire together produces steam._ Murata chuckled inwardly at this thought. The two said persons never noticed the lopsided grin on Murata's face, while his glasses glinted mysteriously, that comes a few seconds afterwards. _This is going to be very interesting, indeed._

---

* * *

---Author's Note--- 

Again, I'd like to thank you guys for reviewing the story.

_Kyayoru-chan_: Thanks for pointing out the part about Gunter. I realize that's rather confusing. I'll make sure to fix that. I guess I was trying to describe him as a far uncle, only I didn't know how to do it (there's a name for different relative from different side of the family in most Asian language). Gunter is supposed to be Cheri's cousin in this story, but he's quite close to the family, which is why Wolfram, Conrad and Gwendel would refer to him as their 'uncle' – although in reality, they would call each other on a name basis.

_SOMA-King_: I'm glad you pointed all those things about my story. Yes, I admit, there's too much crap (heh!), too many useless details, I see. I guess that's what I get for being impatient and writing these chapters in a hurry like that. I've tried to slow down and actually developed the plot and details before I wrote them down this time. It's going to be slower update (just like with this chapter), but with heavier story substance in each chapter – oh and I'll try to make it longer, too.

_Rokutagrl_: this is going to be Yuuri & Wolfram only :)… don't worry about that. I myself can't really see a relationship past best friend border between Yuuri and Murata, too. The 3 chapters in 3 days thing, unfortunately is going to have to slow down from now on (as I've explained the reason above).

Thank you for those whom I didn't mention here as well. I read all of your reviews and really appreciate you guys taking the time to write them. Hopefully you guys liked this last chapter as well. Don't hesitate to let me know if it's lacking anything. No one is perfect, and as humans, we're always learning for the rest of our lives, right:D

Reviews------ I love reviews------- I'll be waiting for your reviews again next time. Mata ne! Arigatou gosaimasu!


	5. Teaser: The Fated Encounter

**The Demon King**

Disclaimer: This fanfic indicates my desperate wish to own Yuuri and Wolfram and the rest of KKMaou T—T --- Too bad they're not. (sobs) And no, I'm not making money out of this. I do get an awful lot of personal satisfaction for writing this, though. (mad cackle).

---

* * *

Author's Note: Kyahh don't kill me please! Sorry for not updating my stories for SO LONG! I haven't had the chance to really sit down and write lately... That, and another reason for the late update being: I've been seduced by so many different existing Naruto fanfic in FFNet lately (especially those with ItaNaru pairings drools).

This is a very short update, meant mainly as a bribe for you readers so you don't knock on my front doors and threaten to kill me for not updating for so long. Honto ni, GOMEN NASAI! I'll update **The Demon King**, and **Vampire Stories** by the end of this month, I promise! I'm also thinking of rewriting Ruby. I realize, the story focus too much on the OC as a main character, and it's too similar to **The Guardian** (a wonderful KKMaou fanfic by Leroy, who allows me to beta-read her story). The link to her story is in my profile. While you're waiting for my updates, why don't you guys visit her story, eh? It's a wonderful fic, I promise!

So here goes the little teaser segment for you guys to enjoy:

* * *

**Chapter 4: The Fated Encounter  
**

"_Kirei… You're a tennyou, aren't you?"_

"_Excuse me?"_

"_Miss tennyou, can I see your hagoromo?"_

_The 'tennyou' chuckled at the little Japanese boy's comment. "Do I look like a female to you, kid?"_

"_A… ah, I'm sorry, sir. It's just that you're so pretty, so I thought you were an angel. This is the first time I've seen someone with hair the color of the sun."_

"_What's your name, kid?"_

"_Ken, Sir, Murata Ken."_

"_Well, Ken, you may call me Shinou."_

---

"Oy, hennachoko."

"I said, don't call me wimp!"

"…"

"What?" Yuuri grumbled.

"Why do you seem different? Do you have, like, a split personality, or something?"

"What do you mean different? And no, I don't have a split personality. This is who I am and how I am as always."

"But, you're…" Wolfram blushed. "You're not as… _forward_… as you were when we first met."

Yuuri blushed at Wolfram's last comment. The Demon King and the new Companion were sitting back at the living room after dinner that evening. Murata had suggested for the two to 'bond' and try to get to know each other since the two were practically 'inseparable' because of the contract now.

* * *

_(That's it for now. You'll get the fully completed chapter by the end of this month.) _


	6. ch 4: The Fated Encounter

**The Demon King**

A KKMaou story by Jetede

**Disclaimer**: Let's cut the crap, shall we. We all know I don't own KKMaou. So just enjoy the fic!

**A/N**: HAH! I finally managed to finish this next chapter of The Demon King, YAY! I know I promised to post this last month, but I've been kind of distracted…I've been hooked with Naruto and my other fic: **Horizon** (a crossover between Naruto and KKMaou) lately. Check that one out if you're interested. It's basically an all powerful!Yuuri and Murata in Naruto world. I've always loved an all-powerful Yuuri idea, anyway…hehe. Review after you read, ok!?

-----------------------------------------------------

**Chapter 4: The Fated Encounter**

-----------------------------------------------------

* * *

"_Kirei… You're a tennyou, aren't you?"_

"_Excuse me?"_

"_Miss tennyou, can I see your hagoromo?"_ (1)

_The 'tennyou' laughed. "Do I look like a female to you, kid?"_

"_A… ah, I'm sorry, sir. It's just that you're so pretty, so I thought you were an angel. This is the first time I've seen someone with hair the color of the sun."_

"_What's your name, kid?"_

"_Ken, Sir, Murata Ken."_

"_Well, Ken, you may call me Shinou," the tennyou said with a kind smile. "Tell me child, how old are you?"_

"_I'll be nine years old in a month."_

"_I see. What are you doing in this part of the forest, anyway?" Shinou asked from his perch on the tree. _

_The 'tennyou' was lounging on a big branch of a tree in the forest that morning, enjoying the warmth of Spring's morning sun, when the young eight-year-old Murata Ken found him. It's rather surprising to see a human child in his forest since other humans tend to shy away from the enchanted forest for fear of demons and others of his kind. It's even more surprising that this human child could actually see him and not be afraid of him! It's the first time in hundreds of years he's met someone like Ken. The child had gained his full attention now._

"_Ah…umm I was playing and gathering some flowers and herbs earlier, but somehow I got lost."_

_Shinou nodded in understanding. It is very easy to get lost in his forest since the forest tends to have a mind of its own. "Where do you live and where are your parents, boy?"_

"_I—I don't have any parents. I'm an orphan, Shinou-sama. I've lived alone ever since jii-chan and the others died a few weeks ago," Ken said sadly as he looked down towards the ground. "There was a fire—" the child was on the brink of tears. He clenched his fists so hard that the knuckles turned white._

"…_I see." Shinou said quietly. 'A mere cub not even nine years old—yet already had to take care of himself. He must've been the sole survivor of the fire at the small orphanage by the river. I thought everyone died that day. Hmm…interesting.'_

"_Well, child, how would you like to live with me from now on?"_

_Ken looked up in surprise. "Are you serious, sir?" His eyes flickered with hope._

_Shinou laughed. "Well, it's been a while since I had company, and you don't have anyone else in your life. So, why not?" At that point, Ken's face broke into the biggest, most beautiful smile that Shinou had ever seen. _

_The 'tennyou' jumped down from the branch gracefully, giving the impression that he was floating off the ground for a few seconds. Shinou walked towards the boy and put his hand on top of Ken's black hair as he leaned down. Ken, he noticed, had the deepest pools of black eyes he's ever seen in a human. 'Such a beautiful child,' he thought. Ken closed his eyes as Shinou leaned down and kissed his forehead gently._

"_Come, Ken."_

_From that day, Murata Ken was never seen in the village anymore. None of the villagers even noticed._

-----------------------------------------------------

* * *

"Oy, _hennachoko_."

"I said, don't call me wimp!"

"…"

"What?"

"Why do you seem different? Do you have, like, a split personality, or something?"

"What do you mean different? And no, I don't have a split personality. This is who I am and how I am as always."

"But, you're…" Wolfram blushed. "You're not as… forward… as you were when we first met."

Yuuri blushed at Wolfram's last comment. The Demon King and the new Companion were sitting back at the living room after dinner that evening. Murata had suggested for the two to 'bond' and try to get to know each other since the two were practically 'inseparable' because of the contract now. It's rather disconcerting to Wolfram to see the 'young' Demon King to act like a nervous teenager, considering that the first night they met each other, that same man managed to molest and put a mark below his chest. Really, what's up with this wimp anyway? Sure, he's probably quite attractive for a guy, but—

'_Wait a sec'! I DID NOT just think this wimp attractive…did I? Oh my God! I'm officially crazy! If mother, Gwendal or Conrad somehow found out about this…well mother probably will get into one of her excited squealy mode on me, and Conrad will just smile that creepy, all-knowing smile of his…but Gwendal?'_ Wolfram groaned out loud in exasperation.

"…rry—"

"Huh?" Wolfram said. "Did you say something?"

"I said, I'm sorry about the mark thing. I mean, I really shouldn't have done that without your consent in the first place," Yuuri said.

Wolfram sighed and leaned back into the sofa. "I guess we can't help it now. Like it or not, we're stuck together now, huh? Murata-san did say that it's irreversible, right?" He put his arm on top of his eyes tiredly. "It's just that…this whole Companion thingie is rather hard to believe, you know. My whole life, I've been trained in all kinds of things focusing on family business in order for me to sometime inherit one of my family's companies—and now when I'm actually on the right track—this happens. I don't know what to do or what to think anymore. This is all so confusing." He clenched his left hand onto the fabric of the sofa.

Yuuri did not make any comment and for a while the room was eerily quiet, only the sounds of their breathing could be heard.

"So what happens then?" Wolfram asked finally. "What exactly is expected of—_us_?"

Yuuri smiled. He did not miss the 'us'. At least he didn't have to worry about Wolfram not accepting their 'relationship.' "Well, I guess we could try to get to know each other for starters, if we have to spend the rest of our lives together—it is a long life, after all." He chuckled. "As for what is expected of you as a Companion…well, we can talk about that later."

"What about you yourself?" Wolfram asked again. "What do you do as a MaOu?"

"You know how you were able to all of a sudden create fire out of your empty hands earlier? Well, Murata had already explained that fire is your elemental affinity, right?" Wolfram nodded. "As for me, although water is my main affinity, it is not the only element I can control. Basically, as the MaOu, I have control over all of the elements. The reason for that power is because I am what you could call the balancer. My existence in the world is to help maintain the balance between the different elements in the world, that and among other things, I guess."

"I don't understand. Why maintain the balance between the elements?"

"Think about it this way. When the balance is tipped towards one element or the other—say…there's too much water—there will be lots of major disasters that involve water in the world, such as continuous rain and flood. When there's too much of the fire element, you get drought and volcanic activities. There will be a lot of innocent lives lost without that balance."

Wolfram got speechless and paled considerably when he heard the explanation.

"You don't have to worry about your power to control fire. I'll help you in controlling your maryoku so it won't harm anyone. Even then, you won't be causing major natural disasters." Yuuri chuckled. "Probably some small freak fire accidents, though." He added in a whispered tone.

"That's not your only role is it?"

The Demon King smiled. "No, it's not. As the MaOu, it is also my job to maintain the balance between the light and dark, the good and evil. Everything in this world is all about balance, Wolfram. I'm sure you're familiar with the term of yin and yang. As long as the world is alive, that balance has to be maintained. The moment the balance is broken, it is the end of the world. _'With power, comes responsibilty'_—I'm sure you've heard of that before."

The blond paled even further and groaned. "What the hell did I get into?"

Yuuri chuckled again. "We'll take it slow, one step at a time, okay? For now, let's just work on your control over your maryoku. We'll cross the bridge when we get there. Now, let's see…"

Yuuri suddenly stiffened and straightened his pose, his face turned serious while his eyes lost the warmth that was there when he was talking with Woflram. Not a second later, a man wearing all white uniform with tan cloak, covering his body from head to toe appeared in the middle of the living room out of nowhere.

"What the—!" Wolfram jumped in surprise.

"_Sumimasen_ MaOu heika, Bielefeld-sama. I apologize for interrupting your evening," the man said. Wolfram was surprised that the man recognized him.

The MaOu stayed unmoved and seated on the sofa. The only movement he made was the slight turn of his head. Yuuri looked at the stranger as if a person materializing in his living room out of nowhere was an everyday occurrence. It probably was. His face was neutral and his eyes turned cold as he faced the man. One could see the thin golden ring that appeared around his black pupils—his eyes did not turn all golden like the first night he met Wolfram on the streets, though. Wolfram realized that the young man in front of him wasn't the naïve wimp he accused him of earlier. This was Shibuya Yuuri, the Demon King. The blond shivered subconsciously.

"Forgive me, heika, but there's been a disturbance in South East Asia earlier. Our branch office in Singapore had reported that there were some volcanic activities around the Sunda Strait in between Sumatra and Java islands in Indonesia."

"Mount Krakatau?"

"I believe so, heika."

"Who's in charge of the area? Why haven't they taken care of it, yet?"

"Murata-sama is the head of Asian region, but—"

"Murata's here. I see. Don't worry, I'll take care of it soon. You may go." Yuuri nodded to the man. The man bowed once and disappeared from the room. Wolfram was surprised once more.

"Doria," said Yuuri. A maid appeared by the doorway.

"Yes, heika?"

"Call Murata and tell him we've got a situation in South East Asia."

"Right away, heika." Doria left as soon as she said that to get Murata from the kitchen.

"What the hell was that?" asked Wolfram

Yuuri turned his attention back to the emerald-eyed blond in front of him and smiled. The thin golden ring around his eyes disappeared from sight. "You asked about the job of a MaOu earlier. I believe this is the perfect occasion to demonstrate what it is exactly that I do." He stood up and offered his right hand to the blond, "Come, let's get ready. As soon as Murata is ready, we'll head over to Indonesia immediately."

Wolfram was confused but he eventually stood up and hesitantly reached for Yuuri's outstretched hand. The two of them headed to the mansion's main entry and waited for Murata at the foyer. A minute later, Murata appeared.

"Problem, Yuuri?" Murata glanced toward the two and noticed that Yuuri was holding Wolfram's hand and the blond did not seem to mind. _'Ooh, interesting,'_ mused Murata silently.

"Volcanic activity discovered from within Mt. Krakatau by Java island in Indonesia. We're heading there right now. South East Asia is still under your jurisdiction. This is supposed to be your job, you know."

"Ah, oops?"

"It's fine. Besides, this is the perfect time to show Wolfram about the balance of the elements."

"Well, what are we waiting for, then? Lead the way." Murata laid his hand on Yuuri's shoulder and clasped it lightly.

"Wait, how are we going to get there?" asked Wolfram.

"You'll see," Murata answered.

Yuuri tightened his hold on Wolfram's hand. "Whatever happens, don't let go of my hand, okay?" Wolfram gulped and nodded. "Here we go."

Not even a blink later, the three men disappeared from the foyer without even a sound. The only proof that they were there was the slight disturbance in the air one could see if one looked closely at the spot they were standing on earlier. The mansion was silent once more.

_(To Be Continued)_

-----------------------------------------------------

* * *

(1) _Hagoromo_: enchanted 'scarf' the heavenly faeries believed to wear when they descend to earth in order to enjoy their bath in a spring. There are different kinds of versions of stories about bathing faeries who gets accidentally found out by this hunter hunting a deer in the forest in Asian cultures. The hunter then stole one of the faeries' scarfs and hid it in his home, forcing the faerie to stay on earth, since she can't fly back to heaven without it. Most of the myths basically tell that she's then married to that hunter, however left after finding out that the hunter has been hiding the scarf all along.

-----------------------------------------------------

* * *

A/N: **Read**. **Review**. **Repeat**. 


End file.
